Dai-ichi Bonsai at Redditch and Newbury

Due to New premises and the Jubilee Celebrations Dai-ichi Bonsai  at  Studley, Redditch are holding a Jubilee Holiday Celebrations on 2nd / 3rd / 4th  & 5th  June 2012.

Having now completed the move to their new premises, just 3 miles south from their old shop at Mappleborough Green. They aim to celebrate by having 60 Jubilee Special offers on pots, trees and sundries

PLUS

 Free refreshments all day 

Dai-ichi Bonsai [click for shop info]

Spernal Ash Nurseries

Alcester Road

Studley

B80 7PD

The Wessex Bonsai Society hosted yet another excellent show for 2012 and there were some great trees on display within their own members sections as well as within the open competition and also from visiting clubs, societies and traders. Wessex have a very active Bonsai society with over eighty members currently so it was well supported and visitor attendance was also good.

The open competition was well subscribed and the majority of classes had at least four or more entries over the various categories and the standards were very good, and in particular this seems to be a good year for Hawthorns to be in flower, and there were some excellent examples on display. If you missed out this year then definitely one to book into the calendar for next year.

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' in 1980 when first purchased

This was a tree that was purchased by its current owner in 1980 from Harry Tomlinson as a training piece. It was originally a broom style which was somewhat neglected and in a poor condition at time of purchase. It was put back into a training pot with the intention to re-grow the crown and re-form the broom style. The growth that was present was pruned back and it received a high level of feed in addition to constant pinching and pruning to get the ramification. It’s first show was in 1997 at Capel Manor in the years following that show, around 2004/5 a pigeon collided with the tree and smashed the top out. The tree had to be put back in a training pot and the crown regrown again prior to taking it out to show. This it took a further 4 to 5 years to recover from and it was only put back in a bonsai pot in around 2011.

Here are a few photos of the tree in the early years and now in its current bonsai pot:

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' in 1985

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' in 1997 at Capel Manor Show

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' in 1997 at Capel Manor Show

Acer palmatum ‘Kiyohime‘ has a dense well branched structure and is considered a shrub as opposed to a tree form. The mature form reaches around 2 metres in width and it is therefore a good form for bonsai as it retains a compact small shape and style. The leaves are small too and dark green with a bluish undertone. They are distinctly 5 lobed and with a red hue at the margins when young and the centre lobe is noticeably longer. The lobes are ovate-lanceolate and deeply divided. The sharp lobe tips tend to turn downward and the margins are toothed. They do however tend to die back a little on vigorous shoots and also is prone to frost damage and sun damage if positioned in a full sun position when the leaves are immature.

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' March 2012 side view

The leaf stalks are a rich green tinged with pink / red and the leaves look great in early spring as they form as the edges are tinged initially with orange-red which is lightly and delicately shaded into the lighter green leaf centre. The summer foliage is rich green, turning yellow-orange in autumn. The Kiyohime is a sturdy tree and makes a great bonsai tree and the name translates as “yellow-leaved dwarf”.

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' March 2012 dense branches of broom style

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' March 2012 top view

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' March 2012 main trunk

There are different forms of the Kiyohime, and one of the even smaller forms is that of the yatsubusa form which is very small in leaf size. They are early to leaf up in Spring and have no definitive central leader so naturally lend themselves the the Broom style for bonsai. They can be propagated via cuttings, layering, air layering and grafting fairly easily but do need winter protection.

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' March 2012 side view

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' March 2012 top view

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' March 2012 underside view

Acer palmatum 'Kiyohime' March 2012 underside view

References:

• Oterdoom, H.J, de Jong, P.C, van Gelderen, D.M (1994): Maples of the World. Photographs by J.R.P van Hoey Smith. Timber Press
• Vertrees, J.D with Peter Gregory (2007): Japanese Maples. Timber Press Guide

This month was the first tree of the month for this year and it was well attended and in 1st place was a Cotoneaster root over rock, in 2nd place a flowering Crab Apple and in 3rd place was a Hawthorn.

Here is a brief update on the progress of one of the three club trees that were purchased back in April 2011. The Trident Maple has just been repotted successfully but it is currently still struggling with its health and has limited signs of bud swelling although buds are present. The reason for this however was ascertained during the recent club night when Reg brought the tree in for some initial pruning though. During the removal of the dense top of the tree, on closer examination of the cut top, within the branch unions, cavities and cracks, hundreds of red spider mite were visible. They are not easy to see with the naked eye and they were on the underside of the branch unions and not obvious on an initial inspection of the tree. The remainder of the tree was pruned and here is are a series of images charting the progress of the evening. The tree is also now due to be treated for Red Spider Mite which should then allow it to fully flush with leaves and function more normally this year from now on.

Tonights meeting was primarily focused on reviewing the accents that we all made back in August 2011 during the Kusamono and Shitakusa evening with Ritta Cooper. We, also had the opportunity to assess the the newly re-potted Trident Maple club tree and to carry out some general pruning on this tree to aid its recovery and future development.. We had a well attended tree of the month and also discussed the trees to go on the club display at the Wessex show in May.

Ritta and Mark Cooper can along for the evening to give advice on how to revitalise the accents and also to remind everyone of the Magical Bonsai Accents Show on the 27th May.

Here are a selection of images of the accents that were brought in for the evenings discussion.

English Elm at Chelsea May 2011

Here is a short photo history of a Bonsai English Elm tree that started out as a root sucker from a mature Elm tree that was cut down in the winter of 1968. The tree was felled not because of any disease at that time but for a new housing development. The resulting felling caused a massive onset of of growth to form from the main trunk at ground level and this was the beginning of how this root sucker then became a bonsai tree.

The parent English Elm tree in 1968 prior to felling that produced the root sucker that was collected in 1969.

The root sucker was collected in 1969 and was placed in a wooden box to allow it to develop on. During the early years of bonsai it was rather trial and error but this Elm thrived on the treatment provided which was heavy feeding, and annual repotting in addition to a meticulous pruning regime to create the branch structure as opposed to wiring and to get the ramification that is now there today. It was a while before it was ready to show and it’s first outing to a show was around 1998 to 1999.

1981 the beginnings of the English Elm bonsai tree take shape

The English Elm (Ulmus procera) is part of the Ulmacea family and the genus of Ulmus and is a broad-leafed  tree species. It thieves in most soil types and has winged disc like seeds, with a very characteristic shape which is clearly visible in the landscape when mature. Its shoots are downy and the leaves are oval or rounded, acute and rough above. The leaves are also sharply double toothier and appear earlier than those of the Wych Elm. However, there are few remaining mature English Elm trees today due to a disease that caused widespread decline of Elms and resulting felling of them in the early 70′s. The autumn colour is yellow, but the tree rarely produces seed and the preferred option for regeneration or propagation is that of suckering. Elms make excellent bonsai, whether you go for the English Elm, Wych Elm or even the Chinese Elm, they tend to have a small leaf size and respond well to pruning.

Autumn colour of the English Elm in the 1980's

Early days of training the English Elm as a bonsai in the early 90's

First show for the English Elm Bonsai in around 1998-1999

English Elm at the February 2012 Swindon Winter Image Show

The following are a selection of photos taken in March 2012 showing the various elements of the Bonsai tree in more detail as it is now.

Main trunk of the English Elm with an excellent nebari

Close up of the branches of the English Elm showing great movement and taper

The small English Elm leaves that are vibrant green when first flushing

Up close view of English Elm leaves

English Elm bonsai as it is today in 2012 starting to come into leaf

Tonight was the Annual General Meeting and the club had a lot to discuss and decide, with our winter show now behind us and next year needing planning. We have much the same committee as last year, with Paul as chairman and Terry taking Vice.

We’ve got some great workshops planned with John Pitt and John Armitage. See here

There was no tree of the month this month, members regardless, brought in this month’s bit of interest and put it on display…

Best Mame in Show (Japanese Black Pine height 10 cm)

The 6th Annual British Shohin Association Show was held at Willowbog Bonsai, Northumberland. You will find the full Show Report here

Best Shohin Display: Mark and Ritta Cooper

Best Mame Composition

Walsall Ceramics suiban, Henk Frensen bronze

The Independent newspaper are running an article on Bonsai enthusiasts in the UK. You may have noted if you were at our winter show this year, Dan Burn-Forti a freelance photographer was taking portraits for the piece and they’ve come out just great. The article is in today’s paper, I recommend you grab yourself a copy and a big thank you to you Dan. You can find the article online here